1. Field of Invention
The invention generally relates to a vehicular safety restraint system and more particularly to a vehicle safety system utilizing an airbag which can protect an occupant during a vehicle collision.
2. Background
Many inventions dealing with airbag systems have been proposed. These systems generally comprise a pyrotechnic inflator and an airbag. The airbag is installed prior to inflation in a compact folded or rolled condition. Upon sensing the occurrence of an impact collision via various sensors, such as for example, in a side impact collision with a vehicle having a side airbag system, a vehicle mounted crash sensor or accelerometer generates a control signal. The control signal causes the inflator to be activated, thereby producing or releasing inflation gas. The inflation gas inflates the airbag. Ideally, a side impact airbag is positioned between the side of the occupant and an adjacent side of the vehicle to adequately protect the occupant. The side airbag should ideally deploy quickly in order to be in position before the vehicle door closes in on an occupant in the event of a collision.
However, during operation of the vehicle, an occupant may be positioned in an out-of-normal-seating position which is sometimes referred to as out-of-position (OOP) occupant. As an example, one such out-of-position seating orientation might include a child resting within the corner formed by the outer edge of the seat and the adjacent side of the vehicle. Vehicle manufacturers typically use sensors of various types to detect when an occupant is out-of-position, which deactivate the airbag under certain criteria, but these sensors cannot address all possible occupant position situations and may be costly.